WVU’s extended season officially ended Tuesday night, putting a cap on the Mountaineers’ first winning season in over a decade.
After taking down Pacific on Monday to advance to UTR Sports’ National Invitational Tennis Championship semifinals, the second seeded Mountaineers had one day to prepare and take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Tulsa was an even 12-12 for the season after its quarterfinal sweep of Wyoming on Monday, while WVU, despite its 3-10 conference record in the competitive Big 12, entered 15-12.
In the opening doubles round, West Virginia’s better record seemed to translate to success. The Mountaineers did not alter their lineup from the match against Pacific, putting senior Momoko Nagato and junior Michaela Kucharova on doubles court one, where they defeated juniors Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings 6-4.
Graduate student Love-Star Alexis and junior Tatiana Lipatova followed suit on court three to secure WVU’s doubles point before the conclusion of court two’s match. Graduate student Ting-Pei Chang and sophomore Maja Dodik led 5-3 when it was cut short.
Looking to get match points on the board, Chang quickly finished the first singles match of the day with a 6-3, 6-0 victory on court six. The win was the 88th and final of her three-season career at WVU, which began after two seasons at Iowa State. Chang finished 8-12 for the season in singles play.
Graduate student Love-Star Alexis was the next to finish her match, though it did not go in WVU’s favor. With a 3-6, 6-7 (1) loss to Berlanga Bandera, Alexis ends her only season at WVU 7-20 in singles.
Upon transferring from Middle Tennessee State this season, Alexis quickly took the role as West Virginia’s ace, as junior Camilla Bossi opted to play the majority of the spring professionally. On March 28 against Oklahoma State, Alexis forced a third set to the No. 10 player in the nation, Anastasiya Komar, barely falling 2-6, 6-4, 0-1 (9-11).
Up 2-1 in the match over Tulsa, WVU lost another close match on court two. Four-year Mountaineer Momoko Nagato fell on court two, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6 to Oleksandra Nahurska to end her year 14-8 in singles and with the most total victories this year, 39.
WVU took the lead once again afterwards, as Lipatova won 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 on court five, closing her break-out season 12-4 in singles. Needing just one more victory to go to the finals against Colorado, though, WVU saw both of its remaining players, Maja Dodik and Michaela Kucharova, drop 6-4 in a third set, sending the Mountaineers back to Morgantown.
The Mountaineers leave Bradenton, Fla. and end their 2024 campaign 15-13 for the year, making for their first winning season as a member of the Big 12 and under the direction of coach Miha Lisac. Tulsa will end its season with the NIT Championships final against Colorado on Wednesday, beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Amazon Prime Video.
Results vs. Tulsa
Doubles Results
- Michaela Kucharova/Momoko Nagato (WVU) def. Lily Hutchings/Maria Berlanga Bandera (Tulsa), 6-4
- Ting-Pei Chang/Maja Dodik (WVU) vs. Oleksandra Nahurska/Ana Naranjo Martinez (Tulsa), 5-3 (unfinished)
- Tatiana Lipatova/Love-Star Alexis (WVU) def. Tayla Wilmot/Erin McKenzie (Tulsa), 6-4
Singles Results
- Maria Berlanga Bandera (Tulsa) def. Love-Star Alexis (WVU), 6-3, 7-6 (1)
- Oleksandra Nahurska (Tulsa) def. Momoko Nagato (WVU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Lily Hutchings (Tulsa) def. Michaela Kucharova (WVU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
- Ana Naranjo Martinez (Tulsa) def. Maja Dodik (WVU), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
- Tatiana Lipatova (WVU) def. Erin McKenzie (Tulsa), 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
- Ting-Pei Chang (WVU) def. Tayla Wilmot (Tulsa), 6-3, 6-0
Photo from WVU Women’s Tennis
